Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has set a daily withdrawal limit on point-of-sale (PoS) terminals to N100,000 per customer.
This was revealed in a circular to all deposit money banks (DMBs), microfinance Banks, mobile money operators and super-agents, titled ‘Cash-out limits for agent banking transactions,’.
The apex bank of Nigeria, CBN, said the restriction is in line with the apex bank’s ongoing efforts to advance a cash-less economy.
Thediscovererng.com earlier reported that CBN has announced a fine of ₦150 million on Deposit Money Banks found guilty of giving out illegal flow of mint naira notes to currency hawkers, including PoS operators across the country.
The move was after the apex bank addressed recent misinformation about the validity of the old N1000, N500, and N200 banknotes still in circulation.
CBN said under the directive, any branch of a financial institution found culpable will face a penalty of N150m for the first violation.
Subsequent infractions, the CBN warned, would attract stricter sanctions under the provisions of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
To ensure compliance, the apex bank stated that it would increase periodic spot checks in banking halls and ATMs while deploying mystery shoppers to uncover illicit cash hawking spots across the country.
All these new implementations are part of efforts by the CBN to control cash scarcity especially in this yuletide season.
The apex bank also revealed that more than 94 per cent of the cash in circulation in the country is outside the control of deposit banks, marking a significant year-on-year increase of N1.59 trillion in the amount of currency held outside banks.
Data from the CBN’s money and credit statistics shows that a substantial proportion of currency in circulation remains outside the banking system, with more than 90 per cent consistently held outside formal financial institutions in 2024.
